Black Lives Matter

Cops Arrest Suspect Who Tried to Maim Cyclists at Saturday’s Justice Ride

Police say they have arrested the teen driver who tried to injure and perhaps kill cyclists during Saturday night's peaceful Justice Ride protest near Madison Square Park.

By Gersh Kuntzman

2:08 PM EDT on October 6, 2020

Cops Arrest Suspect Who Tried to Maim Cyclists at Saturday’s Justice Ride

Cops say Victor Kent was driving this black SUV when he targeted human beings in a Black Lives Matter protest.

Police say they have arrested the teen driver who tried to injure and perhaps kill cyclists during Saturday night’s peaceful Justice Ride protest near Madison Square Park.

Victor Kent, 18, of tony Forest Hills, was arrested on Monday night and charged with assault. He was given a desk appearance ticket and released.

Cops believe Kent is the driver who intentionally piloted his SUV into a crowd of cyclists during the Saturday peaceful protest. Two videos have emerged of the driver, who is first seen arguing with protesters in this Instagram video:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CF8oMjJDkw4/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Seconds later, another video captures the horrific results of the driver’s frustration:

Driver intentionally runs over cyclists during bike protest heading down 5th Avenue.@StreetsblogNYC @Gothamist @nypost
Clip from: https://t.co/fthOZC3Nce pic.twitter.com/hjBtqsFO82
— NYC Bike Lanes (@NYCBikeLanes) October 4, 2020

Miraculously, only two people were injured in the incident.

Police offered no further information about how Kent was collared, the degree of the assault charges or even the number of counts. But amNY reported that Kent had been arrested one day before the attack in the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn for armed robbery. And Kent’s record includes a July 23 arrest for petit larceny, amNY’s Mark Hallum reported, citing law enforcement sources.

Danny Frost, a spokesman for the Manhattan District Attorney, said Kent will be arraigned on the charges on Dec. 30. It is unclear how many counts Kent is facing — police have not provided that information.

This is breaking story. Please check back.

Gersh Kuntzman

Tabloid legend Gersh Kuntzman has been with New York newspapers since 1989, including stints at the New York Daily News, the Post, the Brooklyn Paper and even a cup of coffee with the Times. He's also the writer and producer of "Murder at the Food Coop," which was a hit at the NYC Fringe Festival in 2016, and “SUV: The Musical” in 2007. He also writes the Cycle of Rage column, which is archived here.

Black Lives Matter | NYPD | Traffic Enforcement

Comments Are Temporarily Disabled

Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.

Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.